Chapter 16: "Abandoned"

Been posting far too little of late. And I don't find myself dreaming about stories all the time anymore, like I once did. Maybe it's work. Maybe it's growing up. Wonder what this means for my Twisted Tales I've lovingly nurtured for almost two years now.

"Ah," Archiver scooped up the soil in his hands. "Drier. We are almost there."
We had been walking for almost a full hour in the steadily rising sun. Strangely, he had not spoken even once to me apart from pointing out directions.
"This way." he gestured around a brick column.
Next to the opposing columns, I noticed some shadowy figures drifting in and out. They took on all forms and sizes; some towering over me, some nothing more than paper-thin wisps. I even went through one or two and didn't notice till they reemerged behind me, seemingly displeased.
Inexplicably, an air of gloom hung over the place. Not a single smile was to be seen.
"They all are abandoned Blogs," Archiver explained. "Blogs started enthusiastically by their owners, only to then be discarded in favour of more...exciting pursuits." he made an inverted comma with his fingers. "Now here they lie, forgotten beings not knowing what to do with their lives."
"How sad."
"Sad indeed," he turned up his nose at a filthy dwarf-like creature. "Which is why His Masterblog must come into place."
I surveyed the scene once more. "But how will that help? People would still abandon their blogs anyway."
"If you want to ensure that these pitiful beings never need to suffer such fates," Another ragged creature limped past us. "We must ensure that they never were born in the first place."
"But you would also kill the good blogs. The ones with truly passionate owners."
"A minority they are, I assure you," he scoffed. "If we continue with our old ways, Blogspot shall shrivel like a rose without water. He would never let that happen. I would never let that happen."
"And I would never let your plans be carried out as well."
"Oh, really. Why, if you do not mind me asking?"
"I simply don't feel comfortable having some wacko and his sidekick telling me which blogs are good enough and which aren't."
"Heh heh heh heh heh," he laughed his trademark way. "You take to sound advice as much as a rooster to water."
I kept quiet.
"Hurry along now. We must not keep Him waiting."